Carnival of Rust
by JamesLuver
Summary: Oneshots celebrating the unbreakable friendship and love between two Team Rocket field agents and their talking partner, from the good times to the bad times and everything in between. ON HIATUS.
1. Saviour

**A/N:** -Peeks around and shuffles in-. Um, hello again. Long time no see for this fandom, right? I don't quite know why I lost interest in it, but the fact remains that I did (although Rocketshipping still had a large part of my heart – you can't just forget your first Fanfiction love!) and I found myself uninspired to carry on writing. However, I pre-ordered Pokémon Black on a whim and got re-addicted to both the anime and the games when it arrived, thus getting me to this point. Yep, writing again. I'll admit that I haven't seen most of the episodes from D/P and Best Wishes, but I'm determined to catch up and stuff. Meanwhile, I'll try my best for this pairing, because I'd like to say goodbye to them better than just abandoning them like last time.

I like writing song-oneshot things, so I thought that I'd do it for Rocketshipping too. D/P 117 is win, and this was the song that came out of my shuffle, and they fused to make this. :) Whether it's any good or not is a different matter entirely. xD

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

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><p><em><span>Carnival of Rust<span>_

_1. Saviour_

_Do you breathe the name of your saviour in your hour of need?_

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><p><em>Well, that's it; I'm done for,<em> he thought in a panicked sort of stupor as the Metagross lifted him easily into the air, dangling him like a marionette puppet over the precipice of the sheer cliff face. He could feel Mime Jr. shaking in his arms, Carnivine's vines trembling around him. He dared not open his eyes to gaze at the evil pleasure that he was sure would be burning like lye in the Metagross' eyes as it sent the three of them tumbling to their deaths. Time seemed to slow down to an aching crawl as James counted down the frantic heartbeats to his end.

_It's over,_ he thought, _and I never had a proper chance to say goodbye to Jessie and Meowth…_

Meowth…

A vision of the scratch cat Pokémon filled his mind. It was comforting to have something to focus on rather than his dire predicament, and James did so eagerly, memories of himself and Meowth flashing before his eyes: giving the cat his rations during their Team Rocket training; images of the two of them cuddling for warmth in the snowy mountains; incessant teasing about everything; the memory of just hours earlier before the fight which had torn them apart for good, the trio of James, Meowth and Jessie…

Jessie…

At the thought of his best friend, James' heart tightened to an almost unbearable level in his chest, to the point where he thought that it would explode and kill him before the Metagross did. The idea of being killed by Jessie was a much more appealing one than his current predicament. Fervently wishing that it really would happen, James allowed the recollections of his best friend to fill his senses until she was all he knew.

The very first meeting between them on top of Team Rocket Training headquarters, with the dying sun splashing blood across the sky. Jessie refusing to let him fall so that they could succeed in their final training mission together. Jessie refusing to leave him behind on the doomed St. Anne. The two of them together in the balloon after his terrifying encounter with Jessibelle, re-affirming their friendship with a handshake and a smile. The various plans to capture Pikachu, the various blast-offs at the paws of that same Pokémon. The nights they had shared around their campfires whilst their feline counterpart snored quietly curled up in a corner of the campsite, talking long into the night about nothing and everything.

Jessie and Meowth had always been there for him, through thick and thin. They'd had their share of bad times, of course they had – various incidents of screaming matches flickered briefly through his mind – but they were nothing compared to the good times that they had shared as a team, this predicament now had helped him to see that.

The Metagross roared, and James squeezed his eyes even more tightly closed, knowing that the end was upon him.

_Goodbye Jessie, Meowth,_ he thought silently.

_Jessie…_

There was another roar and then the rush of air.

James didn't even have time to scream before he hit the ground with a jarring crash.

Wait…the ground? Surely he hadn't reached it already; the cliff had been deadly. He would certainly have smashed every bone in his suffering body if he had…

Utterly confused, James opened his eyes, expecting perhaps that the Metagross wanted to toy with him before finishing him off.

Only the Metagross was nowhere in sight and James, Carnivine and Mime Jr. were planted firmly, if rather painfully, on the stone floor.

_And somehow, miraculously, they weren't dead._

His eyes were drawn upwards, ready to thank Whatever Was Out There for sparing his scrawny butt if only for the moment…

And his gaze collided with Jessie's.

She was standing triumphantly above him, hands on hips, the sun behind her making her glow like some sort of other-worldly creature. She was grinning in a rather maniacal fashion, but James thought that he had never seen her looking so lovely…so _beautiful_. The consideration caught him off-guard because she was his best friend and although he'd always known that she was attractive, he had never truly thought about it himself…

But then again, he argued, he was probably only feeling like this because she'd saved him from a terrible fate, and so he pushed that niggling, disturbing thought out of his mind and continued to gaze up at his Team Rocket partner.

Somehow, he knew that everything was going to be just fine now that she was back here with him.

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><p><em>Don't walk away, when the heart is yearning, don't walk away.<em>

- Poets of the Fall, Carnival of Rust

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><p><strong>AN:** Yeah, you can drop me a line and tell me if I suck or whatever. :P


	2. Choices

**A/N:** This is the companion piece to the first chapter. I wasn't initially going to write it, but then I found (what I believe to be, anyway) the perfect song lyrics to narrate this scene. It goes to show, boring Sunday cleaning shifts at work sometimes have their perks. Listening to this song whilst working, consequently giving me the inspiration, is one of them. I'll shut up now.

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><p><em><span>2. Choices<span>_

_Every day I spend away my soul's inside out_

_Gotta be some way for me to make it up to you right now, somehow._

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><p>Harsh pants tore through her throat as she forced her screaming muscles to drive forwards up the steep mountain trail. Her throat was searing, rent in two by the effort it took to breathe. Yet despite her pains, there was only one thing on her mind.<p>

James.

It had been more than an hour since she had heard the news about _that poor guy with_ _the big red R on his shirt_ who had been stupid enough to go looking for the strangely coloured Metagross. She had no idea what might have happened in the interlude since her return to town and Meowth. Had he already made it to the top? Was he at this very moment stretching his luck? Had he already met his less than desirable fate? Jessie's blood ran cold at the mere thought. Many a time they had ended up facing less than understanding Pokémon, getting bitten and scratched and attacked almost beyond recognition, yet this time was so much different. She had always known that he was the weaker of the two of them. As she pushed onwards, a new image of him splayed on his back, battered and bruised, blood trickling from his temple, emerald eyes lost to the world, sprang unbidden to mind, and it made bile tear at her throat like the claws of an Ursaring, her heart beginning to pound a sickening drumroll against her ribcage.

When she had parted ways with him last night, she had been too pumped up for her next contest to even think about the consequences of her actions. She had been certain that James would be better off without her. He would, after all, be able to live it up in the lap of luxury if he had the power to leave for home and his filthy rich parents. It was for the best this way. This way, they could both follow their dreams.

But then the night had truly set in, and the cold silver of the moon had shed its disapproving light on her clearing and illuminated just how idiotic her choice had been. As much as she'd hated admitting any weaknesses even to herself, she hadn't been able to deny the fact that she missed her two friends terribly. Despite the fire crackling merrily, she'd still felt cold inside. Right about now Meowth would've been prodding the fire to make sure it wouldn't fizzle out, and James would've been huddled in his sleeping bag for extra warmth. The three of them would've been talking about nothing and everything, trusting each other with their most vulnerable thoughts.

She'd missed them so much that night.

Yet the three of them were torn apart for good: Meowth had gone off to fulfil his own new dream to be a noodle chef…and James? Well, he could be anywhere in the whole region right about now. He might even be back at home, she'd thought, married, lying warm and comfortable beside his new wife. The notion had been a vaguely disconcerting one, but she'd pushed it away. She'd told herself that it was none of her business any longer. She had made her choice, and she had to stick to it.

However, that unwanted opinion had left her as soon as she'd heard that "that guy with the shirt" had recklessly gone after the dangerous Metagross.

He'd never been strong enough on his own. They'd had their share of explosive arguments – especially since Hoenn – but no matter what they had still been there for each other, and when all was said and done he was still the best friend she had ever had.

So she'd made the decision to find him and save him. Nothing else mattered, not now. What was important was making sure that he was still safe.

Meowth had told her to get off his back, so here Jessie was, a solitary figure, pushing herself onwards, praying to Whatever was Out There that she wasn't too late, that she wouldn't find his mangled body at the bottom of a ravine, broken, still rather beautiful even in death.

The top of the mountain was finally in view, and this spurred her on. Gritting her teeth, she ignored the agony of her limbs, sweat rolling like a river down her face, palms sweaty inside her gloves, and with a spark of determination, withdrew her Pokéball. Activating it, she tossed it into the air, and Yanmega burst forth from the silver light, calling its name in the customary fashion.

And then she heard it, before she even had time to open her mouth and issue any commands. A loud roar, which reverberated around the rocky mountain top, making the stones tremble on the ground. For a moment she couldn't breathe, terror freezing her organs. She stopped dead, eyes wide and horrified, Yanmega hovering uncertainly by her head.

A yelp, small and fearful, yet blissfully alive.

At once the feeling surged back into Jessie's limbs, and she set off at a sprint, Yanmega zooming behind her, tossing a second Pokéball, releasing Seviper from the confines of its home. It glanced around for a moment, clearly confused, but Jessie did not wait for it to get its bearings; instead she pointed ahead and panted, "go!"

Both the dragonfly and the snake raced forward determinedly, and Jessie matched them all the way…

_Hang on, James, I'm coming…_

She crested the top of the hill and stopped short.

She could see her friend below her, his Pokémon wrapped around him. For a wild second she wondered why he was floating.

And then she realised he was glowing blue, and another jolt of terror sizzled through her stomach like a Thunderbolt from Pikachu as she realised that he was floating closer and closer to the hungry mouth of the cliff face as the Metagross roared in triumph, getting itself ready to end it…even from this distance Jessie could sense that James' eyes were squeezed tightly shut, fear warping his face into a mask, squealing in fear; yet there was something about his body language which made Jessie think that he truly had given up, clearly did not think there was any way he could escape…

_No,_ she thought, _it's not over yet. I'm still here for you, James._

Out loud, she ordered Seviper and Yanmega to attack.

Time seemed to slow down to a heart-stopping crawl as each of her Pokémon took off to follow her commands. All she could do was leap down onto the next outcropping of rocks and watch as her Pokémon followed her commands. Yanmega whistled through the air with a growl, heading directly towards the strangely coloured Metagross. Caught unaware, it did not have the chance to even turn around before the bug had smashed into its rocky body with its glowing wings, knocking it off balance. With its concentration broken, the Metagross could not maintain its psychic connection. The blue glow around James began to diminish, and gravity resumed its control over his body as he crashed with a jarring bang onto the ground. Seviper's Poison Tail also hit home, and sent the Metagross hurtling down the ravine it had been holding James over just moments before.

For the first time since hearing the news about his well-meaning suicide mission, Jessie found that she could breathe unrestrictedly. He was okay. Perhaps a little battered, but alive nonetheless. She could not stop the characteristic smirk-smile from spreading lethargically across her features. All at once her confidence was back.

She continued to stand there, waiting for him to open his eyes. She wasn't disappointed when he did.

His emeralds flashed with confusion, clearly showing that he was startled with this unexpected turn of events, his gaze darting around for his saviour. She waited patiently for his gaze to clash with hers and saw the spark of utter joy and trust ignite within his eyes, making them sparkle like precious gems. A surreal, fluttery sensation began to gain momentum in her stomach, like Beautifly, catching her off-guard. It made her knees tremble and her heart rate increase even further, to the point where she was positive that it was going to crack her ribcage. There had been times in her life when she had musingly conceded that her partner was rather handsome in some lights, and this was one of those times. With the sunlight illuminating his face and making his eyes glow even more brightly than before, Jessie had never seen him looking such a way before. He was truly beautiful.

And then the moment was over as she began to laugh, leaping from her perch to land in front of him as he came running up. The beginnings of a smile were on his face. Then he seemed to catch himself, turning away from her, eyes closed, looking haughty.

"You could've been toast," she chided him, inwardly ecstatic that he was safe.

"Well, what do you care for?" he said sniffily. "I thought you were going to become top co-ordinator? I'm fine on my own, if you please."

She grinned, lowering her voice cheekily. "You're happy to see me, so just admit it."

It did the trick; he fell to his knees in front of her, tears of happiness streaming down his face. The trust and joy in his expression made her heart soar. Just from the look on his face she knew she'd made the right choice by returning to his side. The two of them were supposed to be the very best of friends; even now the words he had spoken to her during their training echoed in her mind: _I swear, I'll never let you down._

He had messed up a bit in the past – they all had – but she could honestly say he had never broken that promise to her.

The very least she could do was return the favour.

She had made her choice, and this was it, fighting for what they believed in, the two of them together, forever by his side.

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><p><em>By now you know that I'd come for you<em>

_No one but you_

- Nickelback, _I'd Come For You_

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><p><strong>AN:** I cut out the _girlfriend_ and_ macheezemo_ parts of the speech since...well, they sound stupid, to be frank. :P I mean, who the hell ever says _macheezemo?_ I don't even know what it is. :P

Reviews are love.


	3. Somewhere, Somehow

**A/N:** This chapter was partially inspired by Shaami's picture, _Somwhere Out There_ and 27dayz's fanfic, _Three Wishes, Three Friends_. I have posted links to both on my profile, so check them out.

This chapter is the first of a three part "follow on" type thing. This chapter obviously begins in childhood and goes to a point in Kanto; the next deals with the relationship change in Hoenn; the final one will be my very first attempt at writing BW Rockets. And it's rocketshippy. Just sayin', as I've already written that one. xP

Without further ado, onto the chapter!

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><p><em><span>3. Somewhere, Somehow<span>_

_There's a hard life for every silver spoon,_

_There's a touch of grey for every shade of blue_

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><p>James sat in his bedroom, his arms wrapped around his knees, attempting to make himself as small as possible. His Growlithe was sitting with his head on his young master's knee, a warm, comforting weight. Tear tracks carved their way down his face, leaving a sticky mess in their wake. His eyes were red and puffy. His nose was running.<p>

The boy's Growlithe whined sympathetically as he heard his master sniff. James raised his sleeve to his nose, intent on wiping it, then heard the thick southern drawl of _her_ voice in his head_: it ain't gen'lemanly tuh whape yuh nose on yuh sleeve – use a handkerchief._

James lowered his arms at once, fresh tears leaking from his eyes. Growly saw this and rested his two front paws on his owner's knees, reaching up to nuzzle against his face. James managed a weak smile and scratched the puppy behind his ears, receiving a wet tongue to the side of his face for his efforts.

"I love you, Growly," he sighed, resting his cheek against the puppy's warm, fluffy fur. "You're the best friend I've ever had."

"Growl," the puppy barked, his eyes sparkling with adoration for his master.

James looked up. From where he was huddled in the corner of his room, he could see the window. It was a full moon tonight, thousands of little stars twinkling merrily in the galaxy far above his head. Entranced, the little boy wriggled out from underneath his Pokémon's head and made his way over to the window. He fumbled with the catch for a few moments, before finally throwing the window open. A cool breeze swam lethargically through the boy's lavender locks, making them shift softly as he rested his elbows on the window sill, gazing up at the huge moon. Somehow it made him feel very small and lonely.

"Growl," Growly barked again, leaping up beside his friend, as though to remind him that he wasn't alone, and James reached out to absently scratch the puppy behind his ears. However, his gaze was still drawn to the moon. He was learning a little about astrology with one of his tutors, and he frowned, trying to recall what the man had said.

_Didn't he say that if you wished on a full moon your wish would come true?_ the little boy frowned, tilting his head to one side. Either way, it didn't matter. There was something magical about this moment, something electric in the atmosphere that the young lad didn't quite understand.

He looked back into his room. The shelves on the wall were overflowing with stuffed Pokémon, the desk in the corner overflowing with the latest gadgets. A huge television dominated the wall in front of his bed and piles upon piles of books were stacked neatly on his bookcase. In theory, he had everything a boy could ever want.

In practice, he did not have the thing that he yearned for the most: love and acceptance from his parents. Fresh tears welled up in his eyes as he thought about the way they had disregarded him earlier when he'd tried to show them a drawing he had just completed. His mother had given it a cursory glance and a half-hearted _that's nice, dear_, and his father hadn't even spared it a look. They were too busy making arrangements for his next meeting with Jessibelle.

He had no friends, either. All of the boys he was forced to socialise with at the boring parties his parents forced him to disliked him because he wasn't the same as they were – he didn't enjoy going hunting with his father or learning the finer points of etiquette. He liked flowers and drawing – _girly things_, one lad had sneered at him.

James looked back to the moon. It smiled softly down at him, bathing the world around him in molten silver.

_Anything_, it seemed to whisper. _I can grant you anything._

James closed his eyes and took a deep breath, thinking carefully for a way to word his thoughts.

_I wish for a friend_, he thought_. I wish for someone who can love me for who I am. I wish for a way out of this life. I wish for freedom._

He opened his eyes again and looked back to the moon. It was still smiling down at him. Somewhere in the background, Growly whined. James, however, did not hear. He was too transfixed by the night sky. He thought perhaps that it was childish to make such silly wishes, but something in his heart was telling him that this was special, that he should keep this particular wish close to his heart.

Somehow, he knew one day his wish would come true.

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><p>A young girl sat in an alleyway, knees drawn to her chest, shivering whenever a cold wind nipped at her skin. Her pale flesh was even paler because of how cold she was, and she felt certain that her toes were going to drop off at any moment. A lone tear made its descent down her face, freezing before it had even fallen. She rubbed at her eyes roughly.<p>

"Stop crying, you wuss," she berated herself in a scratchy voice, but this only made more tears well up in her eyes. She blinked rapidly, furious at herself.

She wasn't sure of how long she'd been hiding out here. It seemed like a lifetime since the woman wearing the black dress with the _R_ on the front had sat her down and told her that her momma was never coming back to her. That her momma was _dead_. Little Jessie had refused to believe it, kicking and screaming until she was red in the face, and she had bolted out here when the woman had tried to grab her. She knew that they would soon find her, but she didn't care. She just needed to be alone, if only for a little while, in order to process everything.

_ Momma. Dead._

What was she to do now? She had no one left to rely on. She'd never known her father, relying solely on her mother to provide for her. Of course that hadn't always been easy; Momma had never been paid very well, and Jessie had had to make do with old clothes from charity shops and the smallest rations of food possible. But she had been loved and she had been happy, and that was all that had mattered.

Now it looked as though neither of those things would be a possibility for her any longer. Because Momma was gone and Jessie had no one left.

She turned her attention to the heavens, rubbing her arms as she did so, for her little ragged orange dress did nothing to combat the chilly weather. There were no clouds in the sky and the stars were clearly visible from where she was now; she could just make out the huge white moon. It seemed to be smiling down at her.

_Momma's up there now_, she thought incoherently. _Maybe she's watching over me._

Something about that statement just seemed so right.

_I'm here_, the moon seemed to say. _I'm here, Jessie. Look at me. I'm your momma, and I can make anything you want come true._

Jessie blinked a couple of times. The notion didn't seem silly to her. After all, hadn't her momma always told her that she would try her best to make all of Jessie's dreams come true one day? Who was to say she couldn't make her dreams come true now?

The little girl stood up and walked on bare feet to the mouth of the alleyway so that she could look up at the sky clearly. The stars twinkled invitingly as she stood below them, enticing her with promises of a better future.

_When I come back_, Momma had said, _we'll have lots of money and you can meet your Prince Charming. We'll never go hungry again, I can promise you that._

Right now, food was the last thing on young Jessie's mind. She'd rather never eat again and have her momma back with her. But since that wasn't possible now, perhaps she could put a little faith into the moon.

It smiled softly down at her, bathing the world around her in molten silver.

_Anything_, it whispered. _I'm your momma, and I can grant you anything, honey._

Jessie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thinking carefully for a way to word her thoughts.

_I wish for a friend_, she thought. _I wish for someone who can love me like my momma did. I wish for a way out of this life. I wish for freedom._

She opened her eyes again and looked back to the moon. It was still smiling down at her. Somewhere in the background, footsteps were approaching – the strangers who had broken the bad news to her. Jessie, however, did not hear. She was too transfixed by the night sky, by the moon which told her that this particular wish was magic, that she should always nurse it closer to her heart.

Someday, somehow, she knew one day her wish would come true.

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><p>The little Meowth shivered as he sat in the tiny basket, mewling pitifully. No one heard him, or if they did, didn't care enough to find out what was making the pathetic noise. No, Meowth was alone, sitting in his basket by a wooden fence.<p>

Where his mother and father were, the kitten did not know. All he really understood was that he had been dumped here, left alone with nothing. He was starving – his tiny belly cramped up several times a day from lack of food – but there was nothing he could do about it. He was too weak to fend for himself. The tiny kitten wondered how long he would last on his own.

A harsh wind blew cruelly through the air, making Meowth's fur stand on end in an attempt to keep himself warm. His wails increased in pitch. Still no one heeded him.

_Where's my mommy?_ He thought dismally, crouching lower in the basket as though it would keep him safe from the wind's icy fingers. He didn't know where his parents had gone, or why they had left him here alone, but he hoped that they would come back for him soon. He didn't want to be alone. Not like this.

Meowth tilted his head back so that he could contemplate the stars above his head. The moon was full tonight, he noticed. There was something very beautiful about the moon. Every night the small scratch cat would tilt his head back so that he could take in this beauty, and just seeing the moon made hope fill his heart. He could not understand why it had such an effect on him, but he wasn't going to complain. After all, he deserved some hope. If he couldn't hope, Meowth couldn't have anything, for he had nothing left for him in this world.

_Hello, little Meowth_, the moon seemed to say cheerily. _I'm the granter of all wishes! Roll up and place your bets! I can make miracles happen, for sure. Want to try it, little Meowth?_

Little Meowth mewled at the moon and sat up, his tiny front paws resting on the rim of his beat-up basket. He cocked his head to one side in wonder, his large blue eyes curious beyond measure as he gazed up at the orb in the sky. Could it really grant wishes? To the Meowth, anything seemed possible.

_Anything, little Meowth! Anything you want!_

Meowth closed his eyes, thinking carefully for a way to voice his feelings. He wanted his parents back, but somehow he knew that they would never return for him.

Which left him with only one option.

_I wish for a friend_, he thought. _I wish for someone who can be there for me and look after me. I wish for a way out of this life. I wish for freedom._

Meowth opened his eyes again and looked back to the moon. It was still winking down at him. Somewhere in the background, the wind continued to howl its mournful song, freezing him to the core. Meowth, however, barely noticed. He was too transfixed by the night sky, by the moon which told him that this particular wish was magic, that he should use this wish to keep him warm when his life was cold.

Someday, somehow, he knew one day his wish would come true.

* * *

><p><em>Losers.<em>

_ Bad guys._

_ Evil._

_ Almost-human._

Over the years, the trio had forgotten how many insults had been hurled their way by the twerps. It seemed that no matter what, they would always be accused of being up to something or acting weird, regardless of their true intentions. What hurt them the most, however (though they would never admit it aloud, not even to each other), was the fact that the twerp – who was supposed to look for the good in anyone, who was supposed to _help_ anyone – never seemed able to see anything beyond their Team Rocket uniforms. He obviously thought that they were no better than good-for-nothing crooks who stole because they wanted to, not because they _needed_ to.

Right now Jessie was applying a bandage to Meowth's tail, who hissed in pain when she caught a particularly sore spot. Jessie frowned but said nothing, just continued to handle their feline friend as gently as she could. She had already wrapped gauze around James' wrist, which had been bleeding. Her face was smudged with dirt from where they had fallen in their most recent blast off, and her hair was frazzled from Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

"There, all done," she sighed, releasing Meowth from her grip. He hopped to the floor, reaching behind him to touch his injured tail cautiously.

"T'anks, Jess," he said, looking over to where James was huddled. They had landed in the middle of an open field, where there was no wood to build a fire, no water to warm for food, and indeed no food in general to prevent the trio from starving. The lavender haired man was curled on his side, staring sightlessly ahead as the moon began to take control of the skies.

He heard Jessie sigh from somewhere above him, and turned his gaze on her. She too was looking in the direction of her best friend. It was a rare sight indeed to see Jessie actually seeming to care about James' welfare, but Meowth made no comment on it as the redhead made her way through the field to his side.

"We'll do better tomorrow," she told him, stretching herself out beside him in the grass.

"Will we?" James said softly, as though he'd given up all hope of ever succeeding.

"Of course we will," Jessie answered confidently. "We'll come up with a fool-proof plan to get that little rat. Then we'll be able to move up in the world and _be_ somebody."

_We'll…be somebody._ That was something that James longed for. He had never thought that he'd spend his life running away from home only to be tied to a job that seemed impossible to finish. He'd planned on being somebody, planned on making something of himself and returning to his parents on his own terms with his own chosen partner.

But things had not worked out the way he'd planned.

_At least I have Jessie and Meowth_, he thought to himself as he felt Jessie's hand come to a reassuring rest on his arm as she stretched out beside him. Her hot breath tickled the back of his neck as she exhaled heavily. Meowth padded over too, stretching himself out over the both of them and closing his eyes. _I would be lost without them. It seems like my wish really did come true all those years ago. This life may suck, but at least I have friends to share it with._

Jessie herself was thinking of similar things. Staring at the stars past James' shoulder, she thought back on what her life had consisted of so far. Running. Running, running, running. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a stable home to call her own. Not since Momma had died, that was for sure. She'd never stayed with her foster parents long. She'd sometimes shacked up with her boyfriends, but those hadn't been around for long, either – they'd thrown her out as soon as she'd refused their advances. She'd planned on being somebody – an actress, a doctor, a singer – but all she'd managed to achieve so far was agent status at the Team Rocket academy; not exactly the flashiest job in the world. She _did_ enjoy her work, but it was also very taxing and soul destroying – it wasn't possible to lose to a ten-year-old kid and his electric rodent day after day without getting down about it. She'd wanted it all; the great job, the fame and fortune, the rich Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet.

But things had not worked out the way she'd planned.

_At least I have James and Meowth_, she thought to herself, feeling her male counterpart shift slightly closer to her as a breeze breathed its way through their field. _I would be lost without them. It seems like my wish really did come true all those years ago. This life may suck, but it feels nice to have friends who understand what it's like, too._

The weight of Meowth on top of her was a comforting one. She felt her eyes drifting closed as she thought about their predicament, and she did not try to fight it.

Meowth smirked a little as he looked down at his two companions as they unconsciously shifted even closer to one another, until Jessie was pressed up against James' back. They seemed so innocent when they slept.

He sighed, and turned his gaze to the stars.

_Wonder if Meowsie is lookin' up dere, too?_ he wondered, as he was prone to do when alone with his thoughts. Life had not treated him kindly so far. Ever since he'd been abandoned he'd faced one rejection after another – humans who could've cared for him, Meowsie, even his boss – and he'd often speculated if perhaps he was just supposed to stand alone. Everything he'd done so far had earned him no respect at all. He'd tried to act cute for the little kids so that they'd treat him nicely, but they'd been more likely to throw rocks at him. He'd sacrificed his Pokémon ability for the sake of walking and talking like a human for Meowsie, only for her to throw it back in his face and brand him a freak with cruel amusement. Even the Boss had thrown him out on his ear, although Meowth couldn't understand why he'd do it.

_Well, _he thought,_ at least he t'rew me ta Jessie an' James._

They were good to him – most of the time. Sure, they argued a lot, and Jessie had the nasty habit of hitting him whenever she was in a particularly foul mood, but he still considered them the only friends he'd ever had. They did care about him in their own special ways – it was evident from the way that James always allowed him to hitch a ride on his shoulders or head, in the way that Jessie helped him when he was injured. _I would be lost widout dem. It seems like my wish really did come true all dose years ago. This life may suck, but at least I have friends who care about me._

Ash Ketchum could think what he wanted about them. He never saw past the stark red _R_'s on their shirts, or their boisterous, loud-mouthed personalities. He didn't see the boy who had never been loved, the girl who didn't know how to open her heart, the kitten who had known nothing but rejection. He didn't see the hopes and the dreams which had disintegrated before their eyes, the worlds which had tried to suffocate them in their iron grips. He didn't see the scared and lonely youngsters who had wished all those years ago on the moon for a friend. Just a friend who could understand them and respect them for their individuality.

Which was a shame, because at the end of the day they were only humans and a cat with hopes and dreams of their own.

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><p><em>What a shame, what a shame,<em>

_To judge a life that you can't change._

– Shinedown, _What a Shame_.

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><p><strong>AN:** Leave a review? :)


	4. The Space Between

**A/N:** More of a bittersweet one this time.

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><p><em><span>4. The Space Between<span>_

_So how come when I reach out my fingers_

_Feels like more than distance between us?_

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><p>In the past few months, life for the three vagabonds had gone from bad to worse. James sighed as he sat back against the trunk of a tree and turned his glance to the stars above his head. He couldn't deny his feelings any longer: he was absolutely terrified. This new region – Hoenn – had influenced the group dynamics over the last few months, and certainly not in a good way. The way that he and Jessie were now was almost as distant as they had once been on the days following their initial meeting. It wasn't a regression to be enjoyed.<p>

Like in the old days, he reflected miserably as he glanced around their camp, they would have been sitting close together, perhaps with Meowth between them, close enough to each other to feel the body heat the other permeated, comfortable in the presence of each other. Now, with a callous wind hissing through their copse, they sat miles apart from each other. At least, one third of them did.

Meowth was cuddled onto his lap, his little arms wrapped around the young man's waist. The two of them were thankfully still pretty close, but it wasn't the result that James had wanted. What he wanted was for Jessie to stop treating him so badly, for her to at least show a little compassion to him every once in a while.

At this very moment she was sitting across from him, close to the fire, arms wrapped around herself to keep the cold at bay, glaring ferociously at the flickering flames as though they were the reason that they had messed up yet again earlier. The look in her eyes was enough to make him shiver with anxiety, and he unconsciously drew back from her in fear that she would turn that venomous gaze on him.

It horrified him. Back in Kanto, he had been wary of her ability to pull things out of thin air to hit him with and sometimes he had even cowered from her magnificent temper.

_But he had never been terrified of her like he was now._

It was depressing to him. They had always been so close, the two of them, Jessie and James. They'd had their fair share of arguments back in the day, ones which had left them in sulky silences for the rest of the evening, but they had always pushed their differences to the back of their minds for when the sun rose on a new day. Now it wasn't uncommon if they weren't speaking two days later.

Meowth shifted against him, his ears twitching as he slept. James smiled down at him, feeling the warmth seeping into his bones, and cautiously pulled him closer. It was a good thing Meowth still spoke to him in a civilised manner most of the time. Without Meowth, James would be friendless.

He blamed it all on this Pikachu mission. The last few years had been a huge strain on all three of them. They were expected to perform well, and when they didn't (which was all of the time), the Boss cut their wages. Their three paycheques combined couldn't even cover the cost of food for a month. The three of them went hungry at least three times a week just to preserve what pathetic supplies they had.

No wonder things had turned out this way, James mused sadly as he gently scratched Meowth behind the ears. The scratch car purred a little in his sleep, unconsciously burrowing closer to James' source of warmth. If the three of them had to endure such hardships for the rest of their time in this terrible place, then it only seemed logical that they would take their frustrations out on each other even more horribly than they ever had done in the past. The three of them didn't cope well without at least a bellyful of food, and it was hard to blame them for that.

Still, he wished that Jessie wouldn't take her annoyances out on his quite so aggressively. It didn't make him feel any better to be called an idiot, a failure, stupid, every other day of the week. He'd left home in the first place because he'd hated the way his parents and Jessibelle had treated him. He'd never suspected that Jessie would begin treating him that way too. Oh, he knew that he took out his frustrations on her just as meanly, exchanging snipes at her expense behind her back with Meowth, but he had never cut her down the way that she seemed to have no qualms about doing to him, and he certainly daren't do it as frequently as she did, either.

He exhaled fretfully, staring into the flames of the fire, ceasing the steady scratching he had been giving to his feline companion in favour of running a hand broodingly through his mop of hair. Why did everything have to go wrong for them? If he could have things his way, Pikachu would be safely in the Boss' office, he, Jessie and Meowth would be heralded as the heroes of Team Rocket, bravely withstanding all adversaries and overcoming them in order to complete their mission. They'd have all the money in the world and he and Jessie could go back to enjoying the slightly dysfunctional, slightly unhealthy but oh-so right relationship they had shared in the past. Perhaps…perhaps the two of them could even –

"James!"

The lavender haired man was jerked from his thoughts rather unexpectedly. Shaking his head to clear the half-formed ideas which had been lying in the fringes out of his imagination, he turned his eyes on his partner. She was glowering at him in a way that had the internal alarm bells clanging shrilly.

"Sorry, Jess," he apologised, knowing that that wasn't going to appease her.

She huffed at him, mouth clamped down frowningly. "You didn't listen to a word I just said, did you?"

He could only shake his head meekly, offering another weak apology as a consolation.

Silence fell between them.

"You wanna repeat it?" he said gingerly, gathering enough nerve to look her in the eye. She only huffed in annoyance.

"What's the point in wasting my breath on someone who doesn't even listen to me?" she snapped.

_I _do_ listen to you! _James screamed inside his own head. _It's you who doesn't listen to me, Jess! You're the one tearing us apart, not me!_

He only sat and said nothing.

Exhaling dramatically, Jessie pushed herself to her feet. She stretched limbs as long and lithe as a Persian's and turned towards her backpack, which was slumped sadly beside her partner's.

"Think I'm gonna turn in," she muttered, moving towards it and beginning to ferret through for her night things. Dutifully James turned away to give her the privacy she needed, hugging Meowth's little body closer to him. He could hear her rustling beside him, heard the soft sound of clothes being slid from her body. He waited patiently for the sound of a sleeping bag being unrolled before allowing his gaze to wander back to her. She was now dressed in a baby pink nightgown which belied her true devious nature. Her hair was still valiantly attempting to stay in its gravity defying curl, but was losing the battle; wisps of scarlet fell graciously into her face.

"Stop staring at me," he heard her mutter without turning her back, and feeling a light heat spreading across his cheeks, quickly complied, determinedly studying the dirt in front of his feet. More silence, as heavy and down heartening as their day-to-day failures. The distance between their hearts lengthened, the path stretching out the pain with merciless greed.

And then, just as James was about to admit defeat, bow and buckle and break like an aged tree, she turned to him. Her mouth was still a bitter line of fury, but her eyes had softened, and she moved towards him purposefully. Internally steeling himself for whatever altercation was to come, James watched her approach. She stopped directly in front of him.

"Jess?" he questioned her to break the silence between them.

Her hand reached out, shattering the glass wall which had slowly been constructing itself between them, and touched his shoulder gently.

"Goodnight," she said softly. That was it. Nothing more. She turned away again.

_Goodnight._ It wasn't a grand, sweeping gesture of apology. It wasn't really a true attempt to heal the rift that had steadily been growing between them.

But that touch – that gentle caress of her fingers on his shoulder – had been enough to reignite the spark that James had slowly been losing the fight against keeping it alight.

He watched her as she returned to her sleeping bag and snuggled into it, not uttering another word. It was as though the moment had never occurred, although the male Rocket was determined never to forget it.

James scratched Meowth softly behind the ears, leaning his head back against the tree, warmer than he'd ever thought possible. The feel of Jessie's fingertips lingered on his shoulder.

Perhaps everything could be okay after all.

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><p><em>Just when I felt like giving up on us<em>

_You turned around and gave me one last touch_

- Rihanna, _California King Bed._

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><p><strong>AN:** Please review! :)


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